MadMorbius

I'm sure Nigel can explain it better, but you do it the exact same way...instead of cutting out a single front and a single back piece plus pockets, cut two front pieces, and twice the gussets. Put the second of the "front" pieces in the middle between the gussets with the good side facing the front of the bag. Glue the front and rear gussets to the center piece, then lay out your stitches with the pricking iron...sew the center gusset first, then carry on as per the video. For the strap I use a shield and tab that bridges the gusset and sews onto the center of each.

Nigel, thanks for sharing. Could I ask what thread (size and make) you're using for the 7 to 1 stiching? It looks like braided cord, tough to find here in Canada.

And now my thead is fraying and snapping occaisonally as well...and I've started drinking to cope with this expensive pain in the ass.

Hey folks, here's where we are. After all the suggestions above, I finally got to a point where machine makes a decent stitch (mostly... more on that in a minute). I finally wind up Increasing the needle size to a 200, and going through two holes on the thread post, which allowed me to actually back off the tension knobs and pull the knot down (where it was previously way too low). The stitch seems OK when I do a test stitch. When I try to do anything on the actual production leather ( both test and final are 8oz WC bridle) ie the gusset on a formed piece, it seems to miss stitches randomly. Banging my head here...so close.

I haven't noticed yet, but I donated as a thank you for all the value I've gotten from this board.

I'm excited

I've found it's a lost art. People are amazed at what we create, thinking it's rocket science. I could make a living doing this if I could give up my living to do it.

Ohio Travel Bag has been great.

Contact cement the lap joints before sewing. Wont likely be airtight otherwise.

Oh, and I should probably be honest here..this is the fourth bag of this type Ive put together (inside out bag...ie inside gussets) and this is the first time it went smoothly and/or quickly. The first one probably took me 8 hours over a couple of days...by the time I got to this one, I had a working pattern and a lot more experience on order of assembly and maneuvering the work around the machine. Regardless, final assembly is still kind of intimidating, particulary around the corners. Turning the thing right-side out afterwards is also a heroic experience, resulting in vigorous use of four letter words. I was so very happy when this one came out, essentially, perfect.

I've had a lot of help from Ron and Wiz, but I also have 3 other machines in the shop so I'm not a total rookie. There's no rolled edges here...this is an "inside out" bag. I drew out the pattern on card stock, adding 3/8 for sewing allowance all around. The pieces were cut out, and I ran an edge stitch around all the exposed edges and followed up with a #3 beveller to give it a finished appearance. Then I attached the D-rings and the strap leather...basically assembled everything I couldn't do once it was put together...I sewed the outer pockets to the panels in advance, to cut down on the play that might result when performing the final assembly. Then I clamped the gusset to the back pieces inside out, and stitched it. Clamped that assembly to the front piece, and stitched that. The shoulder strap was already assembled...I make 'em in batches, and had this one (including the shoulder pad) set aside for the purpose. When I do rolled edges, I make the pieces about a half inch larger than finish dimensions, skive that half inch down, and glue both sides. Fold it over, hammer it down with a mallet and then run a stitch along it. Doesn't take long, but I tend to avoid it on joined pieces.

I would not recommend that punch as it's designed for sheet metal applications - it will probably scar both the front and the back of the leather. I have to confess I'm not entirely clear on your use case or the problem you're having. For lacing, I use a lacing chisel that punches a half dozen slots at a time. For lacing with heavier lace (latigo for example) I use either a rotary punch or a drive punch. For belts and other repetitve work I make a template to lay out the hole locations, then knock them all out one after the other. If I had the funds for a clicker, I'd use a die to punch out the pieces with the holes in place at the same time.

Finished this one last night. Idea was to test out the pattern before taking on a customer request. I think it worked out well... Bag is made from a utility side I found on sale at Tandy...hard to describe, it's about 8oz in a rough grain pattern similar to suede. Scratches and scuffs easily, but they rub right out. Very nice stuff. Hardware is solid brass, accent leather is W&C bridle. Cut and assembled on the Techsew in one 2-hour sitting. Very happy with how this turned out.

Well, thats the basic idea but you can do a couple of things to make it a cleaner finish. There are a number of threads stickied on here that describe the process, but I tend to bevel, then dampen the edge, slick it with a canvas cloth saturated in saddle soap and then finish up with either a hand tool or the burnishing bit on my shop drill press. I recommend dying the edge after you bevel and before you burnish...often the dampness of the wet dye is enough to assist with the burnish.

Beautiful work. I love the old-school work. Curious about the inside...looks like bias tape on the inside edges but not on the outside? Folded over? Regardless, awe-inspiring and truely inspiring.

Beautiful work, I love the lining and how clean it came together.

I think you did a great job on a first project. Like anything, you'll make minor improvements to your work as you progress, until your starting products are unrecognizeable. I would like to offer two suggestions. First being that you invest in an edge beveller and perhaps a hand-held burnisher. Then practice finishing your edges. Not only do finished edges add a whole new dimension to the work, it protects the leather; Properly beveled edges allow for a clean burnish, and a clean burnish locks down and seals the fibers on the exposed edges of the leather which are otherwise prone to absorb moisture and expand, or wrinkle/damage the face of the leather via use. Second, I stronly suggest you back up those rivets with stitching. In my experience, rivets (particularly rapid rivets...the copper variety and tubular rivets are pretty much bomb proof) will fail before a good saddle stitch ever will. Wherever a joint is weight bearing (or holding something of fair importance, like say a pistol) a row of stitching provides a backup to a rivet, while the rivet provides a backup to the stitching. Both need to fail before the work will. If you keep at it, you'll find it a very rewarding hobby (or second income even). But like all things, it takes practice. The good news is there's a wealth of information freely available on the net (and these forums), and plenty of people willing to help you get over the humps.

Looks like it got resolved today, thanks!

I do have some 200 needles, I will give that a try as well. The gusset on that piece is about 3/8 inch and I'm using the left side pressor foot. Can't wait to see some roi...

I think you're over thinking this. I'd take a piece of 10oz leather, double it up and punch 308 sized holes in it and cement it into the box pouch about 3/4" from the top of the pouch. (actually, I'd do loops...but you mentioned this isn't your prefered option). Another option is a grid insert.

If you have to pull the needle with pliers, be careful not to bend it, i.e. pull it straight out. You can help by holding the pliers lengthwise along the needle instead of perpendicular to it. This will help you to pull it straigh out. I'm also going to guess you're using kit needles that came from Tandy. If so, just bring it back to them and they'll probably give you a replacement. If you're serious about working with leather, get yourself some quality needles.

I generally use a 1" bag punch on anything greater than in inch in width. Anything smaller, I use the same width as the belt.

Plough guage of some kind? (sorry to leech your bandwidth Bruce, I can take it down if required!)

Ok, that's about where I put it..In my trial and error I found that having them higher seems to add a bit much pressure on the work and may actually keep it from moving forward consistently. I'm going to try installing the stirrup plate again tonight...feeling pretty rediculous about going through all that yesterday only to find that the needle wasn't fully inserted...AFTER I gave up and reinstalled the normal plate. We'll see... The type of work I intend to do with it is the same as pictured in my profile picture. I can't move the center gusset around the machine to stitch around that curve with the formed gussets on either side of the seam, it winds up butting against the bottom of the machine and inhibiting the feed. Really hoping this plate resolves that and is worth the effort

On a side note, while we're dissassembling and reasembling stuff...what constitutes the "correct" height for the feed dogs when one reinstalls them? Ron, Wiz, all of you...thanks so much. You've been very patient and it's greatly appreciated.